Historic purposes only: In 1923-Hitler himself had Occasion to Watch Women’s Boxing!

In 1923, Hitler himself had occasion to watch female fisticuffs.  The circumstances were such that Hitler and one of his early friends, Ernst Putzi Hanfstaengl had spent a Sunday visiting the Berlin National Gallery.  Afterwards, according to Hanfstaengl’s memoirs, “The Missing Years” published in London in 1957, “We watched the women boxers in Luna Park.  Hitler looked on without expression but insisted in staying for several matches, remarking that ‘at least it was better than this duelling with sabres that goes on in Germany.”

The future German Chancellor was no newcomer to boxing.

As a privileged prisoner during his brief stay in Landberg Prison in 1923, he referee’d male boxing bouts.  Possibly due to his non-Prussian roots, Hitler never forbade women’s boxing or wrestling when he came to power in 1933.  But as far as the Prussian officer class was concerned, women who took part in the rigorous sports were deeply frowned upon.

The early recruits to Hitler’s SS were drawn not from the Bavarian s.A. streetfighters, but from Prussian nobility.  Hence, the upper ranks of the original SS and many in the Waffen SS looked down their Prussian noses at women in the ring.

They especially despised mud wrestling which they regarded as yet another symbol of Weimar ‘decadence’ (remember the film ‘Cabaret’).

Both Hitler and many others in the Third Reich had a two-pronged attitude towards women.  They held the belief that German womanhood should be tough and brave.  But they also held that, as a breeder of good Aryan stock, her true place was in the German home.

Hence, unlike Britain and the United States during World War II, there were few females in the armed forces.

Even as late as 1944 when Germany was on a ‘total mobilisation’ drive, Hitler balked at plans to mobilise women for work in the factories.  When Armaments Minister, Albert Speer wanted to draft girls into industry, Hitler said no and told him that ‘The sacrifice of our most cherished ideals (ie: German womanhood) is too great a price’.

Nazi ideology had taught that the place of the German woman was in the home and not in the factor.  And in the home she stayed.

YET for the young girls of the Bund Deutscher Maedel (League of German Maidens)  they were expected to be strong and hardy, and prepared to endure a great deal of physical endurance.  According to William Shier in his book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: “Sometimes the young ladies would be playing at soldering too, for the Hitler Youth Movement did not neglect the maidens.  From 10-14, German girls were enrolled as ‘Jungmaedel’ – literally ‘young maidens’ – and they too had a uniform made up of a white blouse, full blue skirt, socks and heavy – most unfeminine ‘ marching shoes.  Their training was much like that of the boys….and included long marches on weekends with heavy packs”.

Even the Valkyrie maidens of Norse-German mythology were beautiful but terrifying.  Like the female Amazon warriors, they know how to fight.  The Valkyrie women were supposed to hover over ancient German battlefields choosing those who would be slain, thus giving the name ‘Valkyrie’ as the code word for proposed action following the bomb plot on Hitler’s life on July 20th 1944.

WOMEN’S BOXING and WRESTLING, all the rage in the ’20s and ’30s, continued somewhat during the war, mostly as light relief entertainment for officers and men of the Wehrmacht who happened to be on leave from the war zones.

After the end of hostilities, women’s mud wrestling, unlike WOMEN’S BOXING, caught on in a big way in Germany.  This was because mud wrestling was regarded (quite rightly) as nothing more than harmless nightclub fun.

WOMEN’S BOXING however was discouraged since it represented violence, a touchy subject in post war West Germany.

However, there did exist a somewhat bizarre and very exclusive ‘club’ in West Germany which was devoted to FEMALE COMBAT.  The date on this strange organisation came to me from an old friend who was a staunch supporter of WOMEN’s BOXING. (We have a side note on this article that Bob Munden trained Sue Atkins)

Due to his contacts in Germany both during and after the war, he was able to attain membership of this club.  Date on this club and what was expected of the girls recruited into it has also been confirmed to me via two other fans of WOMEN’S BOXING, both of whom are regular readers of Amazon magazine.  Out of respect for privacy, I am not naming names, but I assure readers that what has been imparted to me is not fantasy…

Since the End of World War II, there has existed in Germany a private club devoted to women’s all-in BOXING.

Funded by extremely wealthy German industrialists, the club recruits suitable combatants, all of whom are extremely fit and athletic, and all of whom are told what is expected of them before they actually sign on as fighters.

Girls who agree to the terms and conditions are all volunteers of course, but are sworn to secrecy regarding the club.

A series of ‘cutouts’ is used for security reasons.  In this way, girls who decline to take part cannot then go off and disclose the nature and whereabout of the fights.

Each set of BOUTS takes place in a different location, ususally the luxury mansion of one of the club’s financial sponsors.

The girls are allotted very large sums of money for their heroic efforts in the RING, and injuries received during a bout, are treated at some of Germany’s most prestigious clinics all paid for by their sponsors.

Some of the BOUTS last for up to ten THREE-MINUTE rounds.

Other BOUTS are scheduled to go an indefinite number of rounds.

Going through the WBAN Archive of history on Women’s Boxing, I found an article on information about Hitler and his interest in watching female fisticuffs in 2023.   The article was cut from the magazine “Amazons in Action.”  Page 45.